A
replication process provides
fault tolerance for a continuous media
stream in a
computer network. In one embodiment, the original or source
signal is sent to several splitters which, in turn, each make copies of the
signal and send the copies into a second layer of devices, which are referred to as “concentrators.” A given
concentrator receives as input one or more copies of the source
signal. In a preferred embodiment, a given
concentrator receives two copies of the source signal from at least two different splitters. The concentrators process the incoming streaming signal copies, for example, by merging them into a single or composite copy of the original source signal according to a given
processing algorithm. The output of a given
concentrator may then be fed into a splitter, with the process then being repeated if desired to make an arbitrary large number of copies of the signal. At the end of the
replication process, the output of a splitter or a concentrator is fed directly or indirectly to an
end user. The
replication process is fault-tolerant, and thus the
end user's signal is not interrupted regardless of signal or equipment problems within the distribution mechanism.